Foreign Policy Blogs

The FPA’s Must Reads (April 5 – April 11)

Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper (Remy Steinegger, WEF)

What Happened to Canada?
n+1
By Marianne Lenabat

Marianne Lenabat discusses the dramatic political reorientation that has taken place in recent years in Canada. As Canada’s left parties decline, its renown social services may begin to decline, and populist politics will set in.

Year of the Pigskin: My hilarious, heartbreaking, triumphant season with the American Football League of China
The New Republic
By Christopher Beam

Christopher Beam’s story about a ragtag team of amateur football (the American kind) players in China being transformed into a professional organization reveals the intersection of Chinese and American culture and has been so successful that it has already been acquired by Sony for a film adaptation.

How to Think Like the Dutch in a Post-Sandy World
The New York Times
By Russell Shorto

Russell Shorto profiles Henk Ovink, a fourth generation Dutch architect, who has come to the United States to share his country’s centuries-old approach to flooding prevention with Americans.

The Red Line and the Rat Line
London Review of Books
By Seymour M. Hersh

In this insightful essay, Seymour M. Hersh examines the Turkey’s increasingly reckless approach to supporting the Syrian rebels and how the U.S. and its Western allies have been unable to do anything about it.

Exclusive: U.N. Hints Russia and Its Allies Rigged Crimea’s Secession Vote
Foreign Policy
By Colum Lynch

Although the notion that Crimea’s 97% vote to secede Ukraine and join Russia was somehow rigged is hardly surprising, the U.N. report about human rights in the region is the first independent assessment that has officially accused Russia of tampering with elections.

Blogs:

Confronting Confrontation: Is the Isolation of Russia the Right Strategy? by Eugene Steinberg
Candid Discussions: Touraj Daryaee on Ancient Iranian Empires’ Approach to Foreign Affairs by Reza Akhlaghi
MILF Signs Peace Agreement in the Philippines by Gary Sands
Palestinian, Israeli Leaders Showing They Do Not Want to Pay the Price for a Two-State Solution by Justin Scott Finkelstein
Overcoming Impasse May Be in the Horizon: PA, Israel Open to Continuing Talks by Samantha Quint